After Breaking the Ice-Beauty's Heart - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Her Heart Was No Longer Just A Barren Wasteland.

“Plop.”

Zhou Nianzhi opened her eyes and saw a person rushing toward her.

That person held out a hand, asking her to hold on tight.

Zhou Nianzhi followed the light and saw that the person was Song Yuli.

In the darkness, she held Song Yuli’s hand for the first time.

Let’s go up together.

While she was still floating up in her dream, Zhou Nianzhi felt her phone vibrate.

She opened her eyes groggily, looked at the time, and saw that it was still a while before her alarm would go off. Someone was calling her.

It was a call from her hometown.

Zhou Nianzhi confirmed that it wasn’t Zhou Chengqi’s number. She turned her head to look at the sleeping Sheng Ning, tiptoed out of bed, and gently walked out of the room to the balcony to answer the phone.

The other person spoke first: “Nianzhi?”

Zhou Nianzhi wasn’t fully awake yet. She replied with an “mhm” and then asked, “Who is this?”

The other person said, “It’s Qin Yunyun. Did you forget me?”

Zhou Nianzhi finally woke up and said, “Oh, sorry. I just woke up and didn’t recognize your voice.”

“I should be the one saying sorry. I’m calling so early on a weekend. Did I disturb your rest?” Qin Yunyun said apologetically. “My baby just fell asleep, so I finally have time to call you.”

Zhou Nianzhi said, “Then I’m even more sorry. I didn’t even check in on you after you had your baby.”

Qin Yunyun said, “Oh, we finally got to talk. Don’t keep saying sorry. How have you been? You’re so bad. You only keep in touch with Lin An and not me.”

Zhou Nianzhi said, “I didn’t do it on purpose. Lianlian said you were married, so I was afraid of disturbing you, which is why I didn’t call.”

Qin Yunyun said, “I just got married. I didn’t do anything else. I still have time to take a call.”

Zhou Nianzhi smiled and said, “You’re saying that again.”

Qin Yunyun said, “You still haven’t answered my question. How have you been?”

Zhou Nianzhi said, “Not bad. Just okay. What about you?”

Qin Yunyun also replied, “Not bad. Just okay, I guess.”

Zhou Nianzhi asked, “How is it after you got married? Do you feel like your life has changed?”

Qin Yunyun sighed and said, “A little. I just got married on a whim and didn’t think too much about it. Now that I’m married, I know there’s so much to life, and it can be a mess sometimes.”

“Yeah,” Zhou Nianzhi paused and asked carefully, “Do you regret it? I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just asking if you miss your old life.”

Qin Yunyun said, “Regret it… I guess I’m okay with it. The path is my own choice. Life has to go on. If something really happens, I’ll deal with it then.”

Zhou Nianzhi laughed and said, “You’re still as cool as you were before.”

Qin Yunyun gave a sheepish smile and said, “Really?”

Zhou Nianzhi said firmly, “Really. Not everyone gets married on a whim.”

Qin Yunyun said, “Zhou Nianzhi, are you praising me or making fun of me?”

Zhou Nianzhi let out a soft laugh. “If it’s you, it’s a compliment.”

“Oh, let’s not talk about me,” Qin Yunyun changed the subject. “You’re in another city now, so you don’t know what’s happening back home, right?”

Zhou Nianzhi asked curiously, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Qin Yunyun asked, “Are you on good terms with your uncle?”

Zhou Nianzhi tried to hold back for a long time and changed “very bad” to “not so good.”

“My relationship with my relatives isn’t so good either. Since you said it’s not good, I’ll just be direct. I heard that your uncle, for some reason, isn’t doing anything all day and just goes to temples to worship,” Qin Yunyun paused and asked, “Oh, wait. Let me ask you first. Did you and Song Yuli break up?”

There was too much information, and Zhou Nianzhi couldn’t process it all. She only answered the last question first: “Yes, we broke up.”

“Then that makes sense,” Qin Yunyun said. “Song Yuli came back recently and said that your uncle hit her, but someone said they heard your uncle say that Song Yuli hit him. Who would believe that? How could a young girl like Song Yuli beat your uncle up like that?”

Zhou Nianzhi pursed her lips, frowned in thought for a moment, and didn’t say anything.

Qin Yunyun said, “After I heard about this, Lin An told me you two broke up. I put two and two together and thought, Could it be that Song Yuli broke up with you and hit your uncle to vent her anger? But that’s all just my guess. I don’t believe Song Yuli would hit anyone.”

Zhou Nianzhi heard her and said with a laugh, “Song Yuli lives next door to me now. If she broke up with me to vent her anger, why didn’t she come and hit me?”

Qin Yunyun said “oh” and then asked in a surprised voice, “What? You two are back together?”

“Almost,” Zhou Nianzhi looked up and saw the sky outside turning white, and she said softly.

Qin Yunyun said, “I wouldn’t have told you all this if I had known.”

“No, you should have,” Zhou Nianzhi looked at a ray of light that was coming in through a gap in the curtains and whispered, “Thank you, Yunyun.”

Qin Yunyun was a little confused but still accepted Zhou Nianzhi’s thanks. “You’re welcome. I was just bored recently, so I listened to a lot of gossip. I don’t even know if it’s true or not.”

Zhou Nianzhi nodded slightly. “It’s probably true.”

“Huh?” Qin Yunyun’s tone was still confused, but the sound of a baby crying came from the phone. “Oh, why is he awake again… Nianzhi, I’ll talk to you next time I have a chance.”

Zhou Nianzhi replied, “Okay.”

The call ended.

Zhou Nianzhi was still holding her phone and looking out the window.

See, even the curtains can’t completely block out the light.

Daybreak has already arrived.

Zhou Nianzhi held her phone, clicked on Song Yuli’s profile picture, and sent her a message: “Are you awake?”

Song Yuli replied instantly: “Mhm, I am.”

Zhou Nianzhi: “I want to see you.”

Song Yuli: “Now?”

Zhou Nianzhi: “Right now.”

Song Yuli: “Okay.”

Zhou Nianzhi held her phone with both hands, her heart pounding. She had to fan herself with her hand, trying to calm her excitement and regain some sanity.

No.

Her sanity was telling her—

She still loved Song Yuli very much.

But this time, she had become a little braver.

Because now, she knew that Song Yuli had been behind her all along.

Zhou Nianzhi went back into the room to look at Sheng Ning, then carefully walked out, gently closing the door, making sure not to make a big noise and wake Sheng Ning up.

She walked a few steps and arrived at Song Yuli’s door.

Before she could knock, the door opened for her.

Song Yuli had just changed her shirt but was still wearing her pajama pants. Her hair was a little messy.

Neither of them spoke.

But their hearts were talking to each other.

Zhou Nianzhi walked into the apartment, closed the door, and didn’t even walk any further. She stood at the entrance and opened her arms.

Song Yuli froze for two seconds, then also held out her arms and hugged her.

The moment their souls met, she softly called out her name.

“Zhou Nianzhi.”

“I’m here.”

“Song Yuli.”

“I’m here.”

That’s great.

Thank goodness they were still by each other’s side.

Zhou Nianzhi buried her face in Song Yuli’s shoulder and said in a muffled voice, “You got hurt because you hit my uncle?”

“Mhm,” Song Yuli guessed that the person in her arms already knew the truth and didn’t want to hide it anymore.

Zhou Nianzhi asked, “Weren’t you afraid that I would never find out about all the things you did?”

“No,” Song Yuli replied firmly. “Because I knew you still liked me.”

Zhou Nianzhi looked up and asked with a smile, “How did you know?”

Song Yuli replied, “I wasn’t sure before, but that day, when I was sick, you came to my door to check on me. At that moment, I felt that maybe there was another reason why you left me.”

“You guessed right,” Zhou Nianzhi said. “So you found out that my uncle wasn’t treating me well, and you hit him back for me.”

“It wasn’t entirely for you. It was also for myself,” Song Yuli buried her hand in Zhou Nianzhi’s hair. “When I see you hurting, I hurt too. When you feel pain, I feel pain.”

“That’s so dramatic,” Zhou Nianzhi said, wrapping her arms around Song Yuli’s waist. “So the person I saw when I was walking with my grandma was you.”

Song Yuli said softly, “I told you, I’m your shadow.”

Zhou Nianzhi’s nose stung, and she said in a muffled voice, “Song Yuli, you’re too good to me. I don’t know how to repay you.”

Song Yuli said, “As long as you’re happy, you don’t have to repay me…”

Before Song Yuli could finish her sentence, Zhou Nianzhi had already let go of her and stepped back two steps. She looked at Song Yuli and said, “So, let’s get back together.”

Song Yuli was stunned, and then she lowered her eyes and asked, “Is it because you found out the truth that you came to get back together with me?”

“No,” Zhou Nianzhi smiled and continued, “Whether I found out about it today or not, I just wanted to see you and get back together with you.”

Song Yuli’s eyes showed a ripple of emotion. “Really?”

“The reason I was hesitant yesterday was because there was always a barrier in my heart. But my dream already told me that I just love you and I can’t let you go. I don’t want to lie to myself anymore,” Zhou Nianzhi became more emotional as she spoke, and her voice trembled, but she didn’t want to stop. “Song Yuli, many times, I felt like I was drowning, and you were the one who saved me.”

Song Yuli gently caressed Zhou Nianzhi’s cheek. “Why are you still so emotional?”

Zhou Nianzhi’s tears kept falling. “I know that time you drove me home, you were helping me. I know you came in the rain because you were worried about me. I know you came to see me many times because you were concerned about me. But I was always afraid to take that step and accept your kindness to me.”

“But I was afraid that if I hesitated for a moment longer, you would give up…”

“So, will you still say yes to this emotional me?”

Song Yuli chuckled and said, “I wouldn’t want anything else.”

“So we’re back together?” Zhou Nianzhi’s eyes were full of tears, and the corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile. “Really? Am I dreaming?”

Song Yuli nodded. “We’re back together.”

Zhou Nianzhi was so happy that her tears kept falling. “That’s great!”

Song Yuli brought over some tissues. While wiping away Zhou Nianzhi’s tears, she said, “Is this what it feels like to cry tears of joy?”

“Yeah,” Zhou Nianzhi said, her eyes never leaving Song Yuli.

Clearly, Song Yuli was also so happy that her smile hadn’t faded.

Zhou Nianzhi took advantage of Song Yuli’s distraction and quickly kissed her on the cheek.

Seeing Song Yuli frozen in place with the tissues in her hand, Zhou Nianzhi laughed a few times. Just then, her phone alarm went off in her bag. She waved, said, “I didn’t come here just so I wouldn’t have to pay you back, and also, come to my place for dinner tonight,” then hurried out the door.

Song Yuli stood alone in the apartment, gently raising her hand and touching the spot where Zhou Nianzhi had kissed her.

Finally—

Song Yuli let out a complete sigh of relief.

She thought back to Zhou Nianzhi’s departing figure and whispered softly, “You saved me too.”

When she was helpless and alone, that timid girl who was afraid of even horror movies came with a flashlight and brought light into her world.

When she was sad and lost, it was also that girl who would chat with her patiently and share interesting stories.

When she was in a mess, it was still that girl who recognized her pain, held her hand, and took her to eat.

For Song Yuli, Zhou Nianzhi was like a bird flying by, making her a dead tree that had been dormant for many years to be full of new life.

From then on, her heart was no longer just a barren wasteland.

Spring had quietly arrived.